NEW YORK — Creeping inflation has drawn the attention of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke — setting up a potentially serious conflict between the Fed, looking to apply the economic brakes, and President Barack Obama, eager to sustain economic growth as he seeks reelection.

The nation’s economic recovery, with unemployment still hovering around 9 percent, remains tepid at best and continues to be dragged down by a dismal housing market and shaky consumer confidence.

So the last thing the Obama reelection brain trust wants to see is the Fed tapping too hard on the brakes to control inflation.

Many political and economic observers believe Obama can win reelection with unemployment of 8 percent or less but think he would have a difficult time if the rate is much higher than that.

“There could be pressure on the Fed to keep rates low, [but] Bernanke will tighten monetary policy if necessary,” said Eugene Profit of Profit Investment Management. “Politically, high inflation rates would be a concern in the elections, although perhaps to a lesser degree than job creation.”

The economy now needs to create nearly 200,000 jobs a month to drive unemployment to less than 8 percent by Election Day 2012. And higher interest rates could slow the pace as it becomes more expensive for companies to borrow and expand their operations.

The White House versus the Fed dynamic is not new.

Some supporters of President George H.W. Bush still blame then-Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan for not doing enough to boost the economy in 1992 and, therefore, helping to ensure Bush’s defeat at the hands of Democrat Bill Clinton, then governor of Arkansas.

The fear among some Democrats is that a distressingly similar pattern could emerge in 2012: a seemingly solid incumbent coming off a major foreign policy success (the first Gulf War in Bush’s case; the killing of Osama bin Laden in Obama’s) and facing a lesser-known candidate but nonetheless getting pulled down to defeat by a stubborn economic slump.

At this point, the White House says it’s unconcerned by any potential conflict with the Fed, given the current low rate of inflation.

Consumer prices, excluding volatile food and energy costs, rose just 1.2 percent in the 12-month period ending in April — well within the Fed’s comfort zone.

“I don’t think you will see that tension,” Obama’s chief economic adviser, Austan Goolsbee, said in an interview with POLITICO. “That tends to happen when you have a very big difference in economic projections between the administration and the Fed, or when you see core inflation going way up.”

“Sometimes, you have had that experience,” he added. “But it doesn’t feel like it describes where we are now. Certain commodity prices are up, but core CPI is barely up.”

Still, Goolsbee acknowledged that the relationship between the White House and the Fed — which is supposed to operate outside political influence — can become strained with approaching elections.

“Where there is high inflation, there gets to be disagreement where the Fed says, ‘We need heavy tightening,’ and the political guys say, ‘No, don’t tighten just yet,’” Goolsbee said.

While inflation is now mostly in check, there’s no certainty it will remain that way. Companies have been complaining recently about the rising cost of materials, and they are starting to pass those costs on to consumers.

“If inflation suddenly spikes, there could be acute conflict because the Fed will raise rates — even if doing so undermines further economic recovery,” said one senior financial executive who requested anonymity because he deals regularly with the White House.

“We learned in the 1970s that inflation is a cancer on the economy,” the executive added. “The Fed will not tolerate it. Fed officials view inflation not as a trade-off for creating jobs but as a threat to growth and job creation. Keeping the tight lid on inflation is the Fed’s No. 1 job, and they will move aggressively to kill it if they become convinced of its resurgence. That could really spell trouble for incumbent policymakers — particularly the president — if growth and job creation remain moribund.”

Known as a fierce inflation fighter in his academic work, Bernanke said at a recent news conference — the first of its kind for the central bank — that he is focused on containing rising prices.

And he has an inherent advantage should any pressure come his way from political circles since his term runs until 2014. So even if Obama is not reelected, Bernanke would still be on the job.

The chairman said the Fed would end its $600 billion bond-buying program, known as “quantitative easing,” as scheduled in June — an initiative intended to keep Treasury interest rates low to encourage investment in equity markets or other more stimulative areas.

He indicated the central bank would maintain its interest rate target at nearly zero for an extended period but also made it very clear it could be hiked dramatically and without much warning to combat inflation.

And Bernanke acknowledged that the Fed cannot pursue the second piece of its so-called dual mandate of promoting job growth without taking undue risk.

His remarks drew sharp rebukes from progressive politicians and economists who believe the central bank should do far more to fight persistent high unemployment.

“It’s not clear that we can get substantial improvements in payrolls without some additional inflation risk,” Bernanke told reporters at the news conference, following a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee. “Ultimately, if inflation persists or if inflation expectations begin to move, then there’s no substitute for action. We would have to respond.”